Reading Is Good for Our Brains. So Why Are We Making Books Harder to Access?

For years, those who defend the freedom to read have argued that access to books matters. Books help children develop literacy skills. They expose readers to new ideas and experiences. They build knowledge, spark curiosity, and provide opportunities to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

A new editorial published in Psychological Medicine gives us another reason to protect that access: reading for pleasure is associated with benefits for brain health, cognition, mental health, and overall well-being across the lifespan. Drawing on research that includes surveys, longitudinal studies, behavioral research, and neuroimaging, the authors describe reading as an accessible and relatively low-cost activity with potentially significant benefits. 

At the same time, states like Florida continue to create conditions that make books less accessible in schools and libraries. Books are removed or restricted, educators navigate increasingly complicated rules governing library collections, and public libraries compete for funding necessary to maintain their facilities and services.

The contradiction should concern all of us. We have growing evidence that reading is good for people, yet public policy can make reading harder to access.

The Benefits Begin in Childhood

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence discussed in the editorial comes from research involving 10,243 young people. Researchers examined children who began reading for pleasure early in childhood and followed participants into adolescence. The results went far beyond reading scores.

Children who engaged in reading for pleasure early had fewer mental health problems, less inattention, better behavior, lower levels of stress and depression, and stronger social interactions. They also demonstrated better cognitive performance in areas including verbal learning, memory, attention, and executive function. 

Researchers also found differences in the brain itself. Early reading was associated with larger cortical areas and volumes in regions connected with language, cognition, emotional regulation, and other functions. Importantly, these associations persisted after researchers controlled for numerous potential other variables, including parental education and household income.

The authors are appropriately cautious about causation. The editorial notes that more experimental research is needed to understand precisely how reading produces these benefits and the mechanisms involved. But the evidence across multiple kinds of studies points in the same direction: reading for pleasure is associated with positive outcomes for developing minds. That phrase, for pleasure, matters.

Reading for pleasure is voluntary reading. It is the book a child chooses because the cover looks interesting. It is the graphic novel they devour in one afternoon, the fantasy series they cannot put down, or the novel they check out because a friend recommended it. Creating lifelong readers requires more than teaching children how to decode words. We also have to give them opportunities to discover that reading can be something they want to do.

Reading Is Not Just Good for Kids

The benefits do not appear to end when we leave school. The research reviewed in Psychological Medicine associates adult reading with reduced stress, greater empathy, increased well-being, and decreased loneliness. Among middle-aged and older adults, cognitively stimulating activities, particularly reading, have been associated with slower cognitive decline and a reduced risk of dementia. 

There may even be an additional benefit when reading becomes social. In a 2022 survey of approximately 2,000 participants in a shared-reading program, 74 percent reported that reading benefited their mental health and well-being, while 41 percent said it helped them feel more connected to others. The authors suggest that book clubs and shared reading may offer opportunities to combat loneliness and social isolation. 

That makes libraries more than warehouses for books. They are part of the infrastructure that makes reading accessible.

The researchers specifically point to schools, libraries, book clubs, and community initiatives as promising ways to encourage reading. Because reading is relatively inexpensive and widely accessible, they argue that programs encouraging early reading could be scalable interventions for supporting cognitive development and well-being. 

But reading is only accessible when books are accessible.

Florida Is Moving in the Opposite Direction

That is what makes the continued restriction of books in Florida especially troubling. During the 2024–2025 school year, PEN America documented 2,304 instances of school book bans in Florida, the highest number it recorded for any state that year. Nationwide, PEN America documented 6,870 instances across 23 states and 87 public school districts.

The restrictions have continued. This month, Florida’s Department of Education released its 2025–2026 list of books removed or discontinued by school districts, which includes more than 600 books from ten districts. But the state’s list does not capture the full scope of book removals in Florida. It primarily reflects materials districts reported as removed or discontinued following formal objections, leaving out books pulled through other means, such as administrative action, internal review, or pressure from state officials. It also cannot account for books educators and librarians may choose not to purchase in the first place because of fear of scrutiny or repercussions. PEN America is expected to release its more comprehensive 2025–2026 national book ban data during Banned Books Week.

Access can also be diminished in ways that never appear on a banned-books list. When educators become reluctant to purchase certain books because they fear complaints or professional consequences, students lose access to books that never reach the shelf. When library professionals must devote enormous amounts of time to reviewing collections for legal compliance, that is time and expertise diverted from helping students become readers.

In Orange County, for example, the school district says certified media specialists are responsible for reviewing nearly 500,000 titles in classroom libraries for compliance with Florida's library-selection requirements. (Orange County Public Schools)

Florida law now regulates not only which materials schools may provide but how collections must be developed, reviewed, cataloged, and made available. State law requires certified educational media specialists to select books made available through school library media centers (including classroom libraries) and establishes requirements for selection procedures and parental access restrictions. (Florida Senate)

The cumulative effect matters.

Access Requires Funding Too

Censorship is not the only way access to books can shrink. Libraries cannot provide robust collections, professional staff, programming, and welcoming spaces without resources.

Florida's own records provide an example. In fiscal year 2025–2026, no Public Library Construction Grants were funded through the state's program. Funding returned for 2026–2027, and the introduced 2026 state budget included $5 million for public library construction grants. (Florida Department of State)

It is important to be precise here. Florida has not eliminated state support for libraries. The state continues to operate its State Aid to Libraries program, and funding varies by program and year. (Florida Department of State)

But that distinction reinforces a larger point: access depends on sustained investment. A right to read means much less when there is no adequately funded library nearby, when collections cannot be refreshed, or when staffing and programming disappear.

The new research also suggests that unequal access deserves particular attention. The authors argue that encouraging early reading may be especially valuable for children from lower-income households who face greater educational disadvantages. Because the associations between early reading and positive outcomes remained even after accounting for socioeconomic factors, they describe reading interventions as a potentially practical way to support development across economic backgrounds. 

In other words, reducing access to public books does not affect everyone equally. Families with disposable income can buy books. They can subscribe to digital services, build home libraries, and replace resources lost at school. For many children, the school or public library is their bookstore.

If We Want Readers, Give Them Something to Read

There is an unfortunate irony in watching policymakers emphasize literacy while simultaneously supporting systems that can make books harder for young people to access.

We cannot create enthusiastic readers by narrowing their choices until only the least controversial books remain. We cannot encourage voluntary reading without allowing readers some meaningful freedom to choose what interests them. And we cannot treat libraries as essential to literacy while failing to consistently invest in the collections, professionals, spaces, and programs that make reading possible.

The research highlighted in Psychological Medicine offers a refreshingly straightforward idea. Reading is an accessible activity associated with better cognitive performance, stronger well-being, reduced loneliness, and potentially healthier brains across the lifespan. Schools, libraries, and community programs are among the institutions best positioned to encourage it. 

So perhaps our approach should be equally straightforward. Put books in schools. Fund libraries. Employ trained library professionals. Build diverse collections that give readers plenty to discover. Let parents guide the reading choices of their own children without allowing one person's objection to determine access for everyone else's. And then give children something increasingly rare: the time, opportunity, and freedom to find a book they love.

Because if reading really can help build healthier brains, stronger cognitive skills, and greater well-being, protecting access to books isn't merely about defending the freedom to read. It's about making sure everyone has the opportunity to become a reader.